Other GT Links

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Then there's Jarrett Jack, the most versatile player of the three. He's arguably the best defensive player among them, the strongest and, in some ways, the most steady. But he's hit a wall in March -- he's shooting 26 percent from the field this month -- after thriving in February. He may have the most to prove among the three.

Rookie Jarrett Jack got his second start of the year at point guard Wednesday, sharing the backcourt with Steve Blake.

But while Blake may be the Blazers' regular starting point guard, McMillan said he wanted to see how Jack played the position as a starter. Jack is the only Blazer to see action in all 70 games this season, but didn't start his first game until March 14, a 95-66 loss at Chicago.

McMillan said he has been impressed with Jack's work ethic and recent performances. Jack scored 20 points in 21 minutes last week against Phoenix, and had 16 Sunday against the Los Angeles Clippers.

"I think he's been, really working hard in the last week or so . . . really trying to fight through this struggle we've been going through," McMillan said. "During the Phoenix game he really scrapped and showed that he's not going to give in to what's going on."

Rookie Jarrett Jack is the only Blazers player who has appeared in every game this season. He took a 20-second timeout after practice at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

Now that you're a professional drawing a healthy paycheck, what have you been able to buy yourself that you've always wanted?

"My first car. Also, don't tell my parents, but this Christmas, I'm probably going to get them (a specific item that will remain secret), surprise them."

What kind of car did you get?

"Mercedes CLS 500, silver."

If you weren't an NBA player, what would you be doing?

"Never thought of it. But, if I had to, I'd want to do something in music, probably an A&R executive, something like that. I think I know when I hear something good or something that's different but can also be hot at the same time."

You played three seasons in the Atlantic Coast Conference for Georgia Tech. If you were general manager of the Blazers and had a chance to draft Duke's J.J. Redick, would you take him?

"What number is the pick?"

Let's say No. 4.

"Nah, I can't. I mean, J.J. is my guy. And if we were a team like Phoenix, I definitely think he would fit in to their situation. But we have a number of wing players, and we just drafted Martell. So I'd probably go for a big."

You're known for your defense. Who is the toughest player you've had to guard this season?

"Probably Carmelo Anthony or Kobe (Bryant). One of those guys. Baron Davis was tough, too. Those three. Obviously, I'm playing bigger guys because in our situation, we have small guards. Normally, I would be matched up on the point guard, but I find myself guarding a lot more wings."

Who's your pick to win the NCAA title?

"I'm gonna go with UConn or Villanova. You know, guards carry you through, and Villanova definitely has that, and UConn, they have a great coach and they've been there before, and I think they have what it takes to win."

During the preseason, Sebastian Telfair pulled a prank where he convinced you that you were starting the game, and you ran out onto the court when his name was called. Any payback?

(At this point, Telfair saunters near and says, "C'mon Jack, we gotta go.")

"Nah, he was just joking around. Yeah, he's probably one of my better friends on the team. We'll probably go hang out right now."

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

- Bad Thad is Bad.......... really bad. And by that I mean good. A nifty baseline jumper then a shifty take-the-man-off-the-dribble to the hoop for a finger roll swish. Throw in a sweet block of the west guard going to the hoop. Bad.- Javaris looks sharp - 2 3pt bombs, a nice alley oop assist on the slam. Nice. No doubt he's looking for his shot tonight though............ so far.- Kevin Durant makes toothpicks look gluttonous- Greg Oden - man-child.- Some good press for Georgia Tech, but no doubt UNC is getting the best press.

POSTGAME THOUGHTS

THADDEUS YOUNGSmooth, doesn't force things, team player - he just seems like he's a guy that will fill out a stat sheet - assists, points, boards, blocks, steals. Versatile, athletic. He let the game come to him tonight and he got some nice conversions. He showed his array of talent tonight.

JAVARIS CRITTENTONIt's obvious JC is going to bring something we were missing most of last season - playmaking ability. He's quick, he's strong, he's got a good handle and he's the most physical point guard in his class. Obviously you cannot make real judgements from one of these exhibition games because quite frankly JC was a bit selfish at times, but you can tell he's the real deal. He'll work as hard as anyone of the team and he'll play tough defense.

These two guys are clearly going to play big roles on next year's squad. They bring things that we don't really have and their ability to make plays and involve teammates should make everyone better. Can they be the missing link for this squad? I can tell you that the media buzz is starting to rumble about Georgia Tech and their potential for one of the best year-over-year improvements in ACC history. The "chatter" is growing. There is reason to be excited. The returning group is excellent. Talent is there - chemistry was the question. Coach Hewitt's will have quite a challenge determining the rotation.

Be excited folks. Yes, football practice just started, but I can't wait for hoops to warm up again.

Zach Peacock was named all-Dade county in Miami................. Javaris Crittenton will participate in the Adidas Kentucky Derby Classic April 15 ........................ Hey, how about the current team? They had their celebration banquet where Theodis Tarver, Mario West and Ra'Sean Dickey were honored...........

Looks like we will revisit our little relationship with UConn hoops by shoting them at Tech. The NCAA committee should not be able to criticize Tech for a cream-puff non-conference schedule next season.....

Evidently Georgetown got a "whoops" reception by the PA announcer at the Metrodome when he welcomed the team from "Georgia Tech". They went on to lose to Florida........... Here's cool article where Paul Hewitt recalls his time in the Final Four. An interesting comment on recruiting:

I didn't really do anything recruiting-wise. We had a meeting when we got back Sunday night and we sent faxes and letters, but the only recruit I really did anything with was Randolph Morris. As it turns out, I don't think you get much bounce in recruiting the year after you go to the Final Four, anyway. It takes a couple years for it to pay dividends and I think it helped us with next year's class, which includes two McDonald's All-Americans — Javaris Crittenton and Thaddeus Young.

..... and on his hopes for a follow-up championship run:

I actually thought that our team the next season had a better chance of winning it all, but we had a major injury to B.J. Elder, Isma'il Muhammad was hurt and Jeremis Smith dislocated his shoulder.

Every team that makes a run has an early round scare to overcome and a win to build on in March.

Former Georgia Tech guard Marvin Lewis said the 2004 national runners-up picked up momentum before the Big Dance with a 76-68 win at Duke in the final week of the regular season.

"That set the tone," Lewis said. "We knew we could play with anybody, anywhere, anytime and be in any game."

When leading scorer B.J. Elder sprained his ankle in the Sweet 16 against Nevada, Lewis responded with 23 points. Jarrett Jack had a career-high 29 points in the regional finals and back-up guard Will Bynum hit the game-winner against Oklahoma State in the Final Four.

Lewis said the Yellow Jackets couldn't have handled Elder's injury if they hadn't been a tightknit group.

"It comes down to team chemistry," Lewis said. "Everyone has to know their role, no one can be selfish. It has to be about the team."

"Quite frankly, if the name on our jersey was not George Mason," Larranaga said, "if it was Georgia Tech from the ACC, everyone would look at this differently, what we've done in the tournament. ... There's a preconceived notion that because you were not able to do it before, you should not be able to do it now."

Per the Hive, he met with the Falcons and Jaguars, who want him to do a personal workout and the Seahawks are bringing him in for a workout April 6. Those stats are actually quite surprising. On numbers alone that's draft-worthy material from a guy his size.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

If you don't want to know the results of the dunk contest at the MDAA game, then stop reading now.

Javaris Crittenton and Thaddeus Young fizzled out at the dunk contest - which was won by Duke-bound Gerald Henderson. The 3pt contest was won by UNC-bound Wayne Ellington. Javaris actually missed 3 dunks, so he had a rough day. Word is that it just wasn't a good dunk contest.

Also, nothing going on with changes on the current roster. Nobody's leaving as of today. Of course there's still time.

The most encouraging thing about this team is that the strength appears to be in the trenches on both sides of the ball, with 7 starters retuning. Lots of returning starters, lots of experience and throw in a returning Daryl Richard, and watch out. The D-Line is unquestionably the most talented area of this club.

The biggest question mark - defensive backfield. Only one returning starter - Kenny Scott, and the rest is up for grabs.

In addition to this, Chan Gailey attended a "lunch bunch" meeting this week. Some notes from that and other notes include:- Joe Anaoi, Mike Cox and KaMichael Hall will practice but not full contact.- Jacob Lonowski will miss the entire spring practice regimine with an injury.- We will look at the audible more often as a possibility this year. However, it will depend on the O-Line's ability to handle it. As Coach says, using an audible means 11 guys have to get it right.- N.McManus is 300 lb, Gardner 295lb- Team leaders are really in question. This is the biggest question mark for Coach since he has been coach. Tashard Choice is the unquestioned leader of the offense. Defense is a question. Joe Anaoi and Djay Jones are strong leadership possibilities.- Looking a P.Wheeler at MLB- CB's are Lewis and Scott right now. DJay Jones and J.Gaston will get the initial nods at safety. P.Clark to get the starting nod at nickel back.- Wrotto is going to test his stamina, playing 70 snaps a game instead of 20-25- Special teams is a strong focus with our new coach. They are discecting game film from Travis Bell's first and second season to find irregularites in his kicking motion.- Coach thinks Matt Rhodes goes to weight watchers at night because he has a hard time gaining weight.- TE is going to be very competitive this year with Cooper getting the early lead.- Mike Cox - expect his role to expand - particularly if he performs.- the offense - yes there will be some new elements in the offense - but don't expect an Urban Meyer special here.- Patrick Nix will play a stronger role in calling plays, but coach has not decided how big a role yet.- On the D-Line, all of our defensive ends "look the part" - D.Robertson, M.Johnson, A.Oliver.- R.Grant could have a breakout season and has gained weight / strength- WR's G.Smith and M.Frierson are identical size - Smith has better hands and is a better route runner - Frierson is a harder worker.- T.Chambers needs to have a breakout season. He's been in the system long enough.- we are likely to get back into zone blocking running schemes to the strong side since we have size and strength with Wrotto and McManus. We started messing with the weak side zone blocking running game late in the season but didn't have the strength on the strong side to knock people off the ball.- of course Reggie Ball will get snaps in the spring, particulary when implementing the new offensive wrinkles, but they want to use spring practice to sort out who is the real #2 guy.- impact players coming in as freshman, Coach names LB's Tongo, Griffen, Corey Earls and L.Marius. D.Thomas, J.Evans, to name a few.- Shane Bowen will start out practing at LB.- Coach hoping they shorten game times (another way to play ball-control?).- David Brown seems to be struggling making the jump to the next level.- Coach wants Calvin Johnson to understand more effectively what to do when plays break down so we can get him the ball more.- Anthony Barnes and his academic issue was pretty minor and a mixup in an English class.- special teams - Durant Brooks has a strong punting leg, but we no longer have the luxury of the 1.5 step drop like Ben Arndt. Durant is a more traditional 2.5 steps, which means higher risk of blocks this season. Don't forget we have a new long snapper as well.- Coach is really impressed with the new assistant coaches abilities. He particularly was impressed with Geoff Collins and what he is bringing to the recruiting efforts. Also mentioned Jeep Hunter and Charles Kelly.- Coach has talked to new AD D-Rad two times so far

A little old news here, but Coach Hewitt did attend state playoff games for Thaddeus Young and Mo Miller. This article appeared in a major Tennessee paper, showing Coach Hewitt in the stands and talking about Thaddeus Young. Talk about great press in enemy recruiting territory........

Found this article on James Forrest and the most famous NCAA tourney buzzer beater for the YellowJackets (imo), as Forrest hit the long bomb to beat George Raveling and USC.

"I thought we had a chance if we could get the ball to Travis Best," Cremins said. "When that option was covered, I thought we were in trouble. The last thing I expected was for James Forrest to do it."

Fourteen years later, after 10 seasons of playing professional ball in Europe, the 33-year-old Forrest still feels like he's walking on air when he recalls the moment.

"The crazy thing is I threw it up like it was a real shot," Forrest said in a phone interview from Spain, where he plays for Plasencia in LCD League II. "I just threw it up and hoped I'd get fouled. Bobby [Cremins] set up the same shot for me the next day in practice, and it was way short."

Forrest still has the ball that he used to hit his game-winner. McGuire later sent him a picture of the shot, and Forrest put it in his grandmother's house in South Carolina.

The most amazing part of that last quote for me was "Fourteen years later.......". Wow, how times flies. Amazing.

For all the exploits of his prodigious teammates, Thaddeus Young may have been the best guy on the East court. The 6-7 WF headed to Georgia Tech was sensational from behind the arc, shooting over a good defender in Gerald Henderson repeatedly and adding a few alley-oops and rebounds for good measure. Young must become stronger and more active defensively, but he's the most complete wing player in the class this side of Kevin Durant. In addition to his scoring ability, he also blended very well and continued to play team basketball.

Crittenton tried to force several passes which resulted in turnovers. Really wants to make the difficult pass. Wanted to play faster, but the East was working on half court stuff. The West was more up and down. Rebounded very well and finished around the basket. Crittenton looked fine against Lawson. Lawson did have a better practice. East was tougher to evaluate than the West because of nature of practice. Not as competitive and up and down.

Young looked good. Shot the three ball well and made plays off the dribble.

In addition, evidently Crittenton and Lawson have been having MAJOR practice battles in day 2, going at each other bigtime. Those watching have declared it a draw. JC had a better day, not forcing as many passes, although he did settlte for a number of contested jumpers. Javaris looks very strong as a rebounding guard - probably the best in the class............. Thad had the dunk of the day over Brandon Wright. In addition, Young continues to hit shots from all ranges. Right now, both JC and TY are on the 2nd squad for the east team.

This on Tywon Lawson (UNC):

The world was Tywon Lawson's oyster as a senior. Leading the always-dominant Oak Hill attack, Lawson put together a season for the books, which at Oak Hill is an incredibly strong statement. On Sunday he wasn't a dominant player, picking his spots, standing up too much defensively and getting bothered on his slower, low-release jumpers from deep. Beyond that, he was the usual Lawson. He scored on teardrops over big guys, knocked in several threes (despite the questionable form), beating athlete-deluxe Javaris Crittenton off the dribble and slicing some very tough passes through traffic. There's little question here that he's the top point guard in the class. For what it's worth, the only discussion is how high he should rank -- top 15, top 10 or top five?

By the way, both Javaris and Thaddeus will participate in the dunk contest, which will be held tonight, but televised Wednesday night.

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Sorry for the slow posts this week. Just a lot happening personally. Here's a few hits to keep you going................. Javaris Crittenton wins the Mr.Basketball in the ATL. Congrats and a very nice article.............. Luke Schenscher gets that final extension with the Chicago Bulls, which means he'll be a Bull at least the rest of this season. Nice. Very nice........................ In beesball, the Jackets dropped their first game in a series with UNC, then won today 11-1.............. Former Jacket football player Will Heller has signed a contract with the Seattle Seahawks. Congrats.........

Friday, March 24, 2006

Scott Skiles likes Luke Schenscher's ability on help defense and he's become a crowd favorite in Chicago. We'll know very soon if Skiles decides to keep him the rest of the season. Hate to say it but I don't see it happening, as Skiles was quoted in one article saying he could develop "in the right system", which could be code for - this is not the right system. We'll see........................... Jarrett Jack had a career night last night, scoring 20 points on 8-11 from the floor, 4 boards, 4 assists, 2 turnovers, all in 21:00 minutes. Sebastian Telfair? 27 minutes - 2 assists - 4 turnovers, 12 pts (4-13). Nice going Jarrett. Unfortunately they still got crushed by Phoenix............................ Will Bynum played 14 minutes last night, scoring 4 pts (2-4), with 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 turnover. Not a bad outing. Oh yeah, Golden State won, beating Dallas on the road.

Hey folks, how about this - we have the #1 ladies tennis player in the nation at Georgia Tech (this week), and Kristi Miller also happens to be a 4.0 student (wow), and she also happens to only be a sophomore.

I saw this quote from Luke Schenscher's breakout game the other night with the Bulls. He scored 10 points, including a few outside jumpers. Here's the quote:

After hearing Tuesday the Bulls would sign him to a second 10-day contract, Schenscher got a rare chance to show why he should stick around. He came into the game averaging a point and a rebound in four appearances, but he finished with 10 points and four rebounds in 18 minutes against Portland.

Chants of "Luuuuke" filled the arena whenever the 7-foot-1 Schenscher hit one of his five field goals, which included several long jumpers.

"I've always had [the jumper]," Schenscher said. "[Assistant coach Ron Adams] said if I'm open I can take it, so that gave me confidence."

If you remember, in Luke's senior season he took a handful of outside jumpshots, mostly along the baseline - and he hit some of them. Only a few though. Why? On our most recent team we saw Ra'Sean Dickey expanding his game with a mid-range jumper. However, that's NOT very typical of a Paul Hewitt team. Guards shoot and the big guys bang in the middle. However, is that because of personnel Coach had to work with? I have a feeling Luke had a good shot and he was held back from taking it. Maybe the offensive scheme actually kept him under the hoop more often. It's just something I was thinking about. Why didn't Luke shoot more to open up the lane for others? Don't get me wrong - I'm not looking for the bigs to start leading the team in outside attempts. But it does add an interesting element to the team. I like that Dickey was allowed to develop that part of his game. Will that continue to develop into next season when we add two 6'8" perimeter long-arm athletic outside shooting guys like Young and Faye? Just thinking outloud.

Monday, March 20, 2006

From #1 to #5 in Baseball America and #2 to #4 in Collegiate Baseball News. Hey, all that REALLY matters is that the Jackets work to win the conference, position themselves for a super-regional hosting gig and then go deep in the post-season. So top 10 in the nation is fine with me.

Do you still think the mid majors had too many teams in the NCAA tourney?

------------------------------------------------------------

Well, who had the "post of the day" in answer to the "Question of the Day"? Noneother than well-known GT Hoops guru RamblinRed. Here's was his fact-based answer on the mid-majors and ALL the conferences::

No. I think the mix was about right. It is alot of fun to be able to root for some of the underdogs and there is always going to be a debate over how many mid-majors vs. power conference teams should be taken. You have to have some mid-majors to have the David vs. Goliath type matchups where David has a shot. The MVC probably should have gotten a 5th bid.

Here is my breakdown of Conference performance through the first 2 rounds. I have been doing this for about 5 years and in general the ACC scores high and the SEC and Pac 10 low - though Big 10 took garbage to a whole new level this year.

No time for a lot of stuff.............. The beesball team salvaged the weekend series with the Wolfpack by winning Sunday's game 17-11 - a real pitcher's duel. I got an email from a Tech fan who commented about the NCST fans heckling Danny Payne. Evidently fairly ugly drunken stuff, with numerous mentions of "hobbits".................... Here's a cool article on a bigtime slugger headed to GT next season - Tony Plagman.......... Will Bynum got his first taste of the NBA on Sunday, playing 4 minutes with the Golden State Warriors, and ended with 1 assist, 1 foul, 1 turnover............ Looks like Dean Keener is safe, for now............... LSU has reorganized their athletic department, basically eliminating Dan Radakovichs job............ Joke of the day. Evidently Chris Bosh could not avoid the draft and went to Canada..................... Evidently Herb Sendek had a little frustration when heading to the lockerroom.............

Saturday, March 18, 2006

Congrats to Will Bynum, who signed a 10-day contract with the Golden State Warriors!!!!

"I know he has the toughness and I'm pretty sure he has the quickness," Montgomery said. "I think you saw us (Thursday) night with pressure a little bit. I think he can just get it up the court because he's low to the ground. But there's a lot of stuff you're throwing at him."

Montgomery said the coaches and front office came up with four candidates, one of which was undrafted rookie point guard Aaron Miles, who started the season with the Warriors but was waived Jan. 5. But Chris Mullin, the team's executive vice president of basketball operations, chose Bynum. He said all it took to convince him was "one good look at Will."

And no one's happier than Bynum, who leads the D-League in scoring and is second in assists and minutes. He watched as player after player was called up, while all he got was false alarms.

"I'm more so like happy for the league," Bynum said. "I knew I would get my opportunity. I just wanted to be ready when my opportunity came.

"I'm of a stay here mind-set," he added. "I don't want to go back. If I have to I will. But I think this is where I belong. I know this is where I belong."

Well, only 5 games into the ACC schedule and the beesball team went from 16-0 to 17-3 and now 2-3 in the ACC. They won handily 8-1 yesterday and won in extra innings 11-10 today. Still too early to start worrying yet.

Well, Thaddeus Young and his Mitchell High School mates played for the state title tonight, but unfortunately they werent' able to bring it home. They lost to Liberty 64-60 as Thad was shutdown in the 2nd half with only one point. I didn't listen on the internet, but did look at the play-by-play. Just seemed that he didn't touch the ball much in the 2nd half. His final stat-line was 13 pts (6-10), 1-2 FT, 9 rebounds (3 off), 3 assists, 6 turnovers, 3 steals. From a team perspective, Mitchell had 27 turnovers and only 8 assists, which certainly makes it tough to win. Well, maybe that will make him that much more hungry when he gets to Tech.

In addition, potential recruit Mo Miller lost his bid for a state title as well, and had an off-night, scoring 11 pts on 3-11 from the field, 0-2 from 3pt range, 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 to, 1 steal and 2 blocks.

Friday, March 17, 2006

Depending on that ol' "signability" issue, Georgia Tech's Matt Weiters, the smart and talented catcher/left-handed pitcher from Stratford High School, might be the top pick in the 2007 Major League draft. Baseball America currently rates Weiters as the No. 4 college prospect for '07.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

THADDEUS YOUNGThaddeus and his Mitchell cohorts took down last year's state champs Boliver, which sport major Div IA talent themselves. Thad was a little off with his shot (5-15), but he closed out this game like the winner that he is. He hit 7-8 from the free throw stripe in overtime to close out the game 57-53.

"We've been down in big games, and I knew if we got the lead (in overtime) they were going to foul us, and all we'd have to do was make free throws," said Young, a Georgia Tech signee and McDonald's All-American who finished just 5-of-15 from the field, but made 7-of-8 free-throw attempts in overtime. "But I've been telling everybody that (McCaster) was the player of the game."

Thad ended with 18 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks. Coach Paul Hewitt was in the stands to watch the game.

MAURICE MILLERAfter that game, Coach Hewitt watch Mo Miller and his Ral-Egypt team win in their playoff game. Standout guard and potential GT recruit Miller score 23 points on 7-9 shooting, including 4-4 from 3pt range and 5-5 from the stripe. Oh yeah, he had 7 rebounds (3 off), 3 assists, 3 turnovers as well. Miller is thought to prefer Memphis as a college destination at the moment, but Coach Hewitt is making up ground quickly and has a great shot to land the guy that could be the hier apparent to Javaris Crittenton.

"Obviously I'm very happy to be here," said Gailey. "Georgia Tech is a special place, and I'm looking forward to many more years here," said Gailey. "When I came here, my expectation was to finish my career at Georgia Tech, and this is a big step in that direction."

From new AD Dan Radakovich:

"I look forward to working with Chan Gailey and helping the football program succeed in any way I can," said Dan Radakovich, who was named Tech's new Director of Athletics on Feb. 22 but is completing his duties at LSU, which plays tonight in Jacksonville, Fla., in the first round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

By the way, Gailey's contract includes $5000 bonuses for every assistant coach for each victory over UGAg. However, Gailey himself doesn't qualify for that bonus.

Turns out that my former boss saw Brad Sheehan in person in his last game of the playoffs a few weeks ago. He sent me the following note when I asked about him:

Saw the guy going to Tech from here yesterday - he had 30 out of 62 but they got beat in OT. If they had guards he'd have gotten 50. I think he will contribute but not till he's a junior.

He's a real 6'11" - I saw him get 4 in the first half against us and 26 in the 2nd half. Nice hands.Decent feet.Can block shots.Decent range and good from the line too. He's not Kevin McHale but he does have moves around the basket.

Needs to hit the weights and I am sure Coach Hewitt has the programs to make it happen.

He was not much as a sophomore, got better as a junior, then played with a very good AAU team ( Albany City Rocks - great name ) and got a lot better last summer. His team was 17 - 5 but other than him they didn't have much. His guards were weak so that didn't help him.

I am sure Coach Hewitt saw the development and figured his projection would continue at a fast rate. If he bulks up he could become kind of a Raef Lafrenz type. He was a rail when he got to Kansas but he got the weight later on. But he'll never be a space eater like that giant that plays for the Clippers from Central Michigan - Kaman I think.

Just thought I would pass this along. This guy knows hoops and his father was a high school coaching legend in the Albany NY area, so he grew up on hoops. He knows his stuff.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Tonight Jarrett Jack got the start with the Portland Trailblazers, which I believe was his first. In addition, Luke Schenscher was on the opposing team, as they were playing the Bulls. Not only did the Bulls crush the Trailblazers, Luke had the best game of his pro career with 10 pts (5-6), 4 rebounds (2 off), 1 assist - all in 17:18 minutes. OUTSTANDING!!!!

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Look, we all know the MVC has some good basketball teams. We also all know that all those teams will be gone by the second round of the NCAA Tournament. So why are they there? A down ACC? Strong mid-major performance? A changed RPI formula? Well, Craig Littlepage will cite any number of reasons why Air Force is in over Florida State. None of them hold water.

So while the middle east is all about the oil - and we all know it - there's a big elephant in the room here as well. Read this short article. Get it now? Isn't it obvious? It's all about the money. And in terms of money, the largest untapped potential for the NCAA is their newly owned property - the NIT tournament. Remember, that tourney was owned by 5 NY colleges (New York University, Fordham University, Wagner College, Manhattan College and St. John's University) and they were bought out by the NCAA for $56.5 million. Why? Well, the NCAA knew they didn't have a case when the NIT took them to court because they had a rule that a team could not actually turn down the NCAA tourney to attend the NIT. So the solution instead of losing a court case - they bought the tournament.

So now that they've dropped $56.6 million, what do they want to do? Get a return on their investment. What's the best way to do that? Get some teams in that tourney that people will watch. You put 6, count'em 6, ACC in that also-ran tourney, and now you just might start to get a few folks interested in watching. And that's just what they did.

Face it, the NCAA tournament isn't going to generate much more excitement, much more interest, or much more money than it already does. It's one of the most exciting extended events in all of sports. Do you think sending Air Force in is going to lower the interest in "the big dance"? No way. If anything, this selection controversy has created MORE interest in the tourney and MORE hype for the NIT. More material for the talking heads. So the big dance won't be hurt by this at all. But guess who will be helped? Yeah, the Not Invited Tournament.

Did you know that Gary Williams turned down his Maryland team's invite to the NIT? Did you also know that he was then informed that his athletic office signed a piece of paper gauranteeing they would show up at the NIT if invited? They did. And now his team will show up and play.

Folks, the middle east is all about the oil = money, and the NCAA is all about the money = money. It's as simple as that. Put any face on it you want, but there's the reality. This had nothing to do with "putting the best teams" in the big dance. It's about the money, pure and simple. And guess what games are now showing up more prominantly on ESPN? Yeah, the NIT games.

So now the NCAA hopes that many more of us decide to watch to find out who will be able to stand up at the end and shout "WE'RE NUMBER 66 !!!!!!!!!"

Interesting, the Roanoke Dazzle are the only NBDL team without a call-up to the bigs at this point. That's Will Bynum's team and he currently leads the D-league in scoring. Word is that the Dallas Mavericks and possibly the Boston Celtics are interested. Stay tuned............

Well, check it out. Jeep Hunter, the running backs coach at Memphis, left that program to join Georgia Tech. Guess who has taken his place? Try Tommie Robinson, the guy who just "left" the program. Talk about irony. I hope we get the better of this trade. Of course, Jeep left Memphis because Tech gave him an offer, while Robinson "left" and was picked up by Memphis. Of course, we all know that all that matters are results on the field and they just haven't been there offensively with Robinson as Tight Ends coach the last few seasons. It seems that we have strengthened our recruiting for sure. As to on the field, we'll have to judge later.

... and how about this - Georgia Tech has three players nominated to enter the hall if voted in:

Lucius Sanford, Georgia Tech-Linebacker: Named First Team All-America in1977…A three-time First Team All-Conference selection, he led Georgia Techin tackles in 1975 (121) and 1976 (117)…Named to the Georgia Tech Hall ofFame and their All-Time Team in 1991.

Don Stephenson, Georgia Tech-Center: Two-time First Team All-Americaselection (1956-57). Two-time First Team All-Conference pick…Led the teamin tackles for two years…Member of the Georgia Tech Football Hall ofFame…Played in the Hula Bowl.

Pat Swilling, Georgia Tech-Defensive End: Named First Team All-America,All-Conference and set an NCAA single-game record with seven sacks vs. N.C.State in 1985…Broke four GT records and led the school to their first bowlvictory in 13 years.

Monday, March 13, 2006

Good article about player's parents traveling to see their games, including this on Jeremis Smith's mom:

When Von Smith of the Fort Worth-Dallas area stepped off an American Airlines plane in Greensboro on Thursday, it was déjà vu. She had been here before, when her son, Georgia Tech player Jeremis Smith, played in youth amateur tournaments at the same coliseum when he was 8 and 10 years old.

"He's my son. It’s an obligation to be here to support him’’ she said. "I think he plays even harder when I watch."

On Thursday, as always, she was preparing to keep her feet moving throughout the game, as if she, not her son, was playing defense. "I do a lot of coaching," she said.

Her son responds.

"He plays like a monster," she said. "He's not afraid of anything. He takes hard hits on the floor. My heart stops a minute when this happens."

She may travel more next season. Her daughter hopes to play basketball for Harvard.

"I wanted children as a younger woman and I got exactly what I wanted," she said. "I'm happy and trying to do the best to enjoy them while I still have them."

Luckily, for Smith, she works for American Airlines. She gets free air travel.

When Georgia Tech played Boston College, she jetted to Boston. Since it was a weekend game, she got time for sightseeing.

Most times, it's fly in, see the game, take the red-eye home or the earliest flight the next morning.

Many times, she says, she has stepped off planes and gone right to work at the airport.

One Boston College fan's comment about the ACC tournament versus the Big East tourney:

The thinking of ACC followers was that BC, after joining the league last fall, would pay its basketball dues before becoming ACC-worthy. It took Georgia Tech, the first expansion team to join the league, in 1979, six years to reach the championship game, which the Yellow Jackets won. Florida State, which entered the ACC in 1991, has yet to make the final game. Charter member Clemson has never won the title.

"They won today because they played Big East basketball," said Glenn Garner, a BC alum from Nashua, N.H., referring to the Eagles' former league

He praises Big East ball, but says there's no comparison between the two conferences in tournament atmosphere.

"They don't even fill Madison Square Garden," he said of the New York City arena where the Big East plays it tournament.

"This is awesome," said another BC booster, Joe Coen, who graduated from the Naval Academy and lives in Charleston, S.C., His brother, Bill, is a BC assistant coach. "It's one of the awesome, most premier basketball venues in the nation. We're having a great time here."

Sunday, March 12, 2006

This article points out that our new AD Dan Radakovich is pulling double-duty, juggling two jobs, finishing the SEC hoops tourney (he oversees LSU hoops), while staying in contact with his new staff at Georgia Tech.

Evidently he's thinking about developing a series between GT and LSU in hoops or beesball.

"I'll sit down and talk with coach (Paul) Hewitt and see if he has any openings on his 06-07 schedule," Radakovich said. "We could also look at baseball or some other things down the road."

His last quote is possibly the most interesting:

A series between the Tigers and Yellow Jackets in football is not in the offing, however.

"We have Georgia every year and our ACC schedule has been pretty beefed up," Radakovich said."

Why is that one interesting? Well, anyone remember Dave Braine referring to Georgia Tech as "them" or "they" and not "us" or "we". Well, the new guy hasn't even started yet and he's already using "we". Subtle point, but nice attention to detail Mr.Radakovich..........

Well, not good ink. in a Wall Street Journal cover story last Thursday, there was a story titled "Troubles at Atlanta Hedge Fund Snare Doctors, Football Players". It's basically a story about a young black hedge fund manager (Kirk S.Wright) who took advantage of his aftrican-american status to draw other prominant black professionals, then bilked them out of the better part of $115 - $185 MILLION. Investigators have only managed to find about $150,000 of that money and now Wright is on the run..... sort of. Nobody can find him, but evidently he can be reached by phone, as he is in regular contact with his lawyer.

So former YellowJacket football player and NFL standout Willie Clay was wrapped up in all this, along with guys like Terrell Davis, Steve Atwater and Rod Smith. Here's the part with Clay:

Investors say they were attracted by the fund's reported high returns and low volatility. The Taurus fund reported a 27% average annual gain from 1998 through the end of 2004, compared with less than 5% for the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index, according to marketing materials.

"The percentages, most of them, seemed outrageous," says Willie Clay, a former football player for the New England Patriots and two other teams who helped lead Georgia Institute of Technology to a national title in 1990. He invested in Mr.Wright's fund more than six years ago, and later invested separately with him in strip malls and car washes.

The firm's rise coincided with a blossoming of black affluence in Atlanta. The city's once close-knit community of middle-class African-Americans - many of whom banked at the city's one major black-owned bank - began expanding dramatically in the 1980's, as metro Atlanta beame a magnet for young black professions seeking business opportunities and a culural comfort zone.

Why won't anyone ever listen to their momma's. Wasn't it momma's who said - "if it looks too good to be true, then it probably is".

Here's a link to the non-Wall Street Journal version with no mention of Clay.

Saturday, March 11, 2006

Well, the team that tends to give us fits is UVA and so far that hasn't been the case, as the Jackets take games 1 and 2 from the Cavaliers. First in their ACC opener last night the Jackets won 8-2. In that game Luke Murton hit his first collegiate home-run. Today the Jackets needed a come-from-behind rally to get the win, as Mike Trapani comes through with an 8th inning 2 out single to cap a 4 run rally and the 7-6 victory. Nice. Very nice. That means a 16-0 record and the 2nd best start in Jacket history, only one game behind the 17-0 start in 2003. Keep it rolling guys!!!

That's right - in the midst of all the unbelievable point guards that have graced the flats, there's one guy who had one of the most impressive individual seasons as a point guard in the history of the school - yet he's rarely mentioned in the company of Kenny Anderson, Stephon Marbury, Travis Best, Jarrett Jack............ It's Craig "Noodles" Neal. During the 1987-88 season, Neal set the all-time season assist mark with 303. Even Kenny Anderson's magic 1990 season only yielded 285 assists. That record still stands as a Georgia Tech single season record by Neal. During the 1988-89 season, Neal set the single game assist record (19) against Duke 12-28-1988. I was there. Believe it or not, I still have a yellow pom-pom from that game with the 19 assists written on it. Here's a cool article on Noodles, who is now an assistant coach at Iowa.

But Iowa associate head coach Craig Neal doesn't bat an eye when he's called "Noodles." That's part of Neal's persona, like his Indiana drawl and easy-going demeanor.

"When I grew up, I think I played my first NBA game at 150 (pounds)," Neal said. "So I kind of got (the nickname) in high school. The Dick Vitale era had started, so once he got a hold of it when I played down at Georgia Tech, it was pretty hard stopping it."

Did you know this?

Neal joined the Iowa men's basketball staff two seasons ago when Sam Alford retired. Neal offered Iowa coach Steve Alford the continuity, familiarity and trust that he lost when his father left the staff. Those weren't Neal's only qualities, of course, but they have served the head coach, players and program well.

"He's my best buddy," Steve Alford said. "We grew up together. We know each other. We've had similar careers as players and coaches. He brings great enthusiasm, great excitement. It allows me to concentrate on maybe one or two items instead of 15 items. I think we've gotten better because of that

This article is quite complimentary of Neal's coaching ability. Wonder if he would be interested in ever returning to his alma mater?

So Damarius Bilbo ran about a 4.7 in the 40 at the NFL combine. Will that hurt him? Well, absolutely in terms of draft position - or getting drafted at all. Will it preven him from getting his shot in the NFL - probably not, as this mention attests:

Receivers who may have hurt themselves with their Combine showings included Mike Hass of Oregon State (a 4.59 40), Damarius Bilbo of Georgia Tech (4.7), Pitt's Greg Lee (4.59) Skyler Green of LSU and Brandon Marshall of Central Florida. Still, there’s more to playing wide receiver than sheer speed. The

Interesting article about LSU and their current AD Skip Bertman, who was thought to be replaced by Dan Radakovich. It is interesting because it gives you some insight into what has happened to LSU athletics through their AD. We all know Radakovich has had his fingers in all these activities. Note these comments:

On the AD as a recruiter:

"I understand what coaches need," Bertman said before moving from the diamond to the administration building. "I think we can have fun, and I want to win in all the sports." One of the first things Bertman did was get behind the women's basketball program. In the spring of 2002, he actively recruited a high school girls player like no A.D. before him. Seimone Augustus signed with LSU in May of 2002, and the rest is history.

"That's what happens when you have a coach as an athletic director," said Chatman, whom Bertman promoted to replace Sue Gunter two years later. Behind the scenes, Bertman created marketing positions for women's basketball, and the rest is attendance history.

On facilities:

Bertman and staff made renovation plans for the neglected Assembly Center, which before Bertman's touch looked nearly as bad as the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina. Previous athletic departments neglected the building and used a convenient excuse. The university operated the arena, so it was not the athletic department's responsibility, though it was home to basketball, volleyball and gymnastics. Bertman thought that excuse was stupid and took it over. A new roof replaced the diseased one in 2004 along with a new concourse, lights and seats among other enhancements.

On scheduling football and sticking with a coach:

Bertman tried to improve Brady's media image as he did with Saban. He got Brady to toughen his schedule, which was at its toughest this season and which many have credited for making LSU so good this season. He got Brady to alter his coaching staff.

"He did a lot that I asked him to do," Bertman said.

Bertman also did not fire Brady after the 2002 season, which was LSU's second straight losing campaign in the SEC and fourth out of five under Brady, or after the 2004 season, which saw LSU lose seven of its last eight after star center Jaime Lloreda's foot injury. Bertman did not roll over Brady's five-year contract after 2004, but he did stick with him when a firing would have been a much more popular decision among fans. But Bertman saw the local talent coming in and believed Brady could coach.

"I thought John had a bum wrap," Bertman said. "He's a good coach and a good person."

Today, Brady has the best two-year record of any SEC coach at 26-6 with a SEC title, two SEC West titles and a record, 17-0 home SEC record. He has two years left on his contract that Bertman plans to renew either after this season or next.

On raising ticket prices:

"We can win in all the sports, but it's expensive and depends on football," said Bertman, who dramatically raised football ticket prices before the 2003 season but showed "timely hitting." The football team won the 2003 national championship. Bertman raised football ticket prices again recently, but the football team is 33-6 the last three seasons with two SEC titles and a national title. It's not like the Saints raising ticket prices.

on Radakovich:

Bertman lost a valuable Radakovich to Georgia Tech last month, but he'll find someone else. He also said he's staying on at least through 2008 when he'll be nearing 70. New stadiums are on the horizon for baseball and softball.

Well that's what he says here. And here's what he said about leaving Georgia Tech:

I'll be 60 this summer, and I'm not looking to go anywhere. I had opportunities to do that, but I made a commitment to get this done right.I appreciated UCF for doing what they did when I was at the Vikings. Even at Georgia Tech, I would have never left there for anywhere except Notre Dame. I've never gone looking for jobs. Most people have approached about jobs.

The Jackets lose in the opening round of the ACC tourney to Maryland 82-64. This was a game that got ugly from the start, then got more ugly. Only late in the game did the team show some spirit with a futile run. I'll have a complete post-mordem on the season over the weekend, but honestly, there's a lot to look forward to, and a lot to be concerned about. Contrary to most, I am sad to see this season end. I hate it. I love basketball and this closes another chapter in GT sports history. A sad chapter, but folks, the book ain't over. So don't hang your heads, don't worry too much about rosters, and just appreciate these kids for being student-athletes at one of the finest institutions in the world.

Thursday, March 09, 2006

"Representing my country this month is a huge thrill for me, but I am going to have to elevate my game to play online against the Xbox Live community of baseball fans" said Teixeira. "Fans are going to look to strike me out every time I step up to the plate, so I can't wait to throw a few filthy sliders of my own for strike three."

That would be "Countdown to Signing Day". Javaris was in studio and interviewed. Some of his comments:

- he patterns his game after Kenny Anderson and Stephon Marbury the most of all GT PG's- he watches lots of film as a way to develop his game.- he has spent a decent amount of time with the current squad and feels like there is a lot of chemistry- he's convinced we'll have a fantastic team next season- said the main reason he came to Tech was that he had a tight relationship with Coach Hewitt- he named all the other 3 recruits in his incoming class by name.- talked about how there is a real increase in talent in the state of GA. - mentioned Gani Lawal as another example of in-state talent.

They showed a mix of highlights that were certainly impressive. Well spoken young man for sure!!!

In addition to that, Coach Hewitt did an interview on 790thezone. Some interesting points:

- Coach said he called out his team after the Clemson game. He told them they were either out of shape or they just gave up. - He said he told the team if they are hoping to have the super freshman come in and turn this team around, they were in for a shock - that each of them would need to elevate their game.- He said that Jeremis Smith, Anthony Morrow and Ra'Sean Dickey would form a good base to work with for next year's team. (that's right - no mention of a certain other recruit from that class - causing major rumors to swirl even greater about a possible transfer).- In addition he was asked about how playing time will work out with all the talent. He said that competition will work itself out, and that "some things" will be addressed in the off-season. He said redshirting was a possibility. He wasn't looking to run anyone out of the program, but he was just confident things would work out next season.- This year's team was not physically or mentally tough enough to win. - Said they will change the conditioning program for this team. They have to be more physically tough late in games. - Talked about turnovers - and said "how do you coach those"? experience, conditioning- Having said all that, the team has made recent strides and he believes there's a great chance for this team to beat MD Thurs.

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

UPDATEDI did a little more work at lunch today and made the chart even more useful by color coding the various recruiting classes. I also added Austin Jackson and put a column at the end showing each player's status. Note that EVERY Paul Hewitt recruit NOT in the current program is currently playing professional ball. Some NBA, some NBDL, some Europe and one MLB, but EVERY recruit that Paul Hewitt has brought in is playing professionaly in some part of the world. Pretty amazing.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

I put this together at lunch and thought it would be an interesting way to look at the change in Coach Hewitt's rosters since he has been here. You can see where he's had to deal with adversity. In studying this chart, it becomes clear to me that this season is year 1 of a new era. We knew that already, but having the current crop of soph's on last year's team doesn't really count. The core of Luke, Ish, BJ, T-Mac and Will was out and this is the first full year of a new crop. You also notice that only 1 of the 4 signed in the class of 2002/2003 actually made it to their senior season - the other three all went pro prior to reaching senior status.

So once again, it only visually highlights what we already knew - this is a new era for Coach Hewitt. This is a brand new team with individual talent learning what it takes to play as a team. They didn't quite "get it" this season, but there glimpses of something more. So don't jump ship and prepare to jump back on the bandwagon next season if you're off for the moment.

Another interesting point - Coach Hewitt has yet to figure out how to actually have 13 guys on scholarship in a season. He's varied between 10-12 and actually only had 12 one season. So while everyone's wondering how the numbers are going to work out, just know this - they will. He may be working closer to the line than years past, but that's a good thing. His first class consisted of all 4 year guys. His next class consisted of 1 4-year guy, 2 NBA players and a Swedish all-star. Where is the Dickey/Fredrick/Smith/Morrows class? Probably mostly 3-4 year guys again - to stock the cupboard, then next year's class - about half-and-half with 1-2 year guys and 3-4 year guys. It seems to me Coach Hewitt is figuring this thing out (after getting burned a few times) and he'll carry closer to the limit and he'll recruit to reload.

Monday, March 06, 2006

Well, there were rumors first circulated by Justin Young at Rivals (that were posted on public boards) that some big news was coming Thursday. Now we know that recruit Lance Storrs will announce his college decision on Thursday between GT and Tenn......... and actually Rivals is now showing that he is committed to the Jackets............Thing is - nobody is aware that he has been officialy offered a free ride. It is well known that Storrs has the Jackets on the top of his list, but has been patiently waiting for that offer. Since the Jackets got a commit from Gani Lawal the priorities seemlingly shift to the Point Guard position, but Storrs plays the 2/3. What does it mean? Well, if Storrs now has an offer and announces for the Jackets, then it's safe to say there are some players leaving the squad prior to their eligibility running out. Coach Hewitt is still after another top notch PG and that seems to be either Mo Miller or Tyrel Reed. So who's leaving? Of course a recent AJC article hinted at this fact saying that Theodis Tarver wasn't the only scholarship player that was playing his last game. No need to speculate about transfers or anything like that - totally counterproductive at this point. Of course don't forget that there are a myriad of potential NBA prospects that could leave after next season as well, so stay tuned.............

GREENBSORO, N.C. - Duke's Blue Devils will be the No. 1 seed in this week's Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball Tournament. The league's 53rd annual tournament will get underway on Thursday, March 9, with four games scheduled in two sessions.

Wednesday, March 8 - Team Practices

ACC Tournament practice sessions are open to the public and the media. The practice schedule will be announced on Monday.

Well the boy of summer swept another series, taking 3 games from Rutgers in dominating fashion. Thrown in a weekend loss by Clemson to their rival SC and you should be looking at the new #1 team in ALL the polls this week.

The stat line for Luke Schenscher - 12:19 minutes, 4 pts (2-2), 1 rebound, 3 fouls. Hey, it's his first game. Here's what his new head coach had to say:

Overall, coach Scott Skiles said Schenscher's defensive instincts were "as good as anybody else's," and liked his touch around the basket.

In addition, he said this:

"Luke's legitimately over 7 feet tall,'' Bulls coach Scott Skiles said. "He's got good hands. He has some nice moves around the basket, a hook with either hand. He plays hard.

"The 10-day thing is always a difficult thing because you want to bring a guy up and give him a legitimate look. Because of the 10-day contract start [in January], you're so late in the season that your practice time is limited. So the game is when you want to look at him.''

Here's what Luol Deng had to say - remembering his match-ups with Luke in his one season with Duke:

Schenscher went undrafted last June after four years at Georgia Tech, where Bulls forward Luol Deng remembered the 7-1, 265-pounder as a formidable foe when Deng was at Duke.

"He gave us a lot of trouble with our shots,'' Deng said. "Every time he played us, he played great. He's long, very good around the rim.''

Now Luke himself sees a niche for himself with the Bulls:

"Obviously, they don't have too many true centers, so I think I can slip in and do something," the 23-year-old Australian said.

And I kid you not, here is what Luke said about his newly grown curls:

"[Skiles] just said he likes hard workers and just go out there and do what he asks,'' said Schenscher, who likes his long locks. "I always said, 'The curls get the girls.' That's why I've got them.''

Saturday, March 04, 2006

Well, Zach Peacock got his state title tonight, as his Norland team beat Winter Park 55-48 for the title. Peacock had 18 pts / 10 boards, was 4-10 from the floor and 10-12 from the charity stripe as he led his team to victory. FYI - the Winter Park team is led by Jeremiah Rivers, the PG prospect that Coach Hewitt went after and also is the son of Doc Rivers.

In addition to that, after Javaris Crittenton and his SACA team won their state title, opposing Whitefield Academy head coach Tyrone Johnson had this to say about JC:

"We did everything to stop him, but at the end of the night, he is the best player in Georgia — bar none," Johnson said.

A microcosm of the season all wrapped up in one game at Clemson SC. I don't even feel like commenting much. The Jackets just almost gave up 100 points to Clemson to seal a winless year on the road. Amazing as the Jackets lose 95-82. This in a game where GT shoots 52% from the floor, 54% from 3pt range and 71% from the FT line, and they outrebounded Clemson 35-29. So what happened? Same old same old. Turnovers everywhere - 19 total. Points off those giveaways - 27 by Clemson. Just a terrible performance. Oh yeah, the defense. Uhhh. Not good. Not good at all.

Well, Gani Lawal and his Norcross mates got their state title last night. Gani had a slow 1st half, but ended with 18 points and 12 boards. He and Jodie Meeks were quite a 1-2 punch.

Today, Javaris Crittenton and his mates also got their state title. In a tight battle all the way, Javaris was the difference down the stretch, as he had a key assist, a key steal and a key dunk to put the game away for SACA. So the SACA boys and girls won state titles on this day. Congrats to Javaris who wanted that title without the help of Dwight Howard.

Time for journeyman Jon Barry to find a home with another NBA team. He was released by the Houston Rockets........

Barry (6-5, Georgia Tech) was in his second season with Houston after joining the Rockets in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks on Dec. 23, 2004, in exchange for Tyronn Lue. He played in a total of 73 games with two starts for the Rockets, averaging 6.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Barry was also 72-of-165 (.436) from 3-point range in his stay in Houston. This season, Barry was averaging 4.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 20 games. He recorded his best scoring performance as a member of the Rockets with 24 points (8-10 FG, 2-3 3FG) vs. Sacramento (11/2/05), topping his previous high of 19 points vs. Orlando (1/24/05) and marking the first time he ever led the Rockets in scoring. Barry's 24 points against the Kings also marked his first 20-point game since scoring 20 with the Denver Nuggets at Dallas (11/22/03). He also missed a total of 28 games this season with foot and calf injuries (3 games: 11/26/05-12/3/05, bruised left foot; 12 games: 12/8/05-1/3/06, right calf strain; 13 games: 1/10/06-2/1/06, right calf strain).

Guess who's the new head coach of the Australian South Dragons? How about our own Mark Price? That's right - check it out............. Congrats - I think. Hard to imagine that Price's interest in finally getting back into the coaching game (as his kids got older) would result in a relocation down under. But we wish him the best................ This is the same team attempting to sign Luke Schenscher back to his home country. Most "local" Aussie papers have been very kind to Luke, although I did see one recently reference him as an "NBA wannabee". Well, technically I guess that's what he is. Here's an article linking the two.

Friday, March 03, 2006

Well, there's something to be said for having guys on your team that are winners. Guys who come from winning programs. Guys who understand what it takes to win. Guys who have done it. Witness your Georgia Tech basketball recruits and their recent accomplishments

THADDEUS YOUNGBadThad got his regional title, beating Hillcrest 75-71 last night. Thad dropped 23 points in the victory. This after scoring 33 points as his Mitchell team beat Washington in a state semi-final game the other night. They play for the sectional title Monday and a victory will send them on to the state tourney. There have been plenty of superlatives thrown around about this young man. Here are more.... Not only that, there are plenty of honors, including being named to the McDonalds AA team, and being named to the Hoop Summit team.......

JAVARIS CRITTENTONGuess who's playing for a state title. Javaris has one state title already, but he got that one as a sophomore with Dwight Howard down low. Javaris is determined to get one as a senior and prove that maybe he was just as important on that Howard team. Well, Javaris has practically single-handedly willed his team to the state finals, which will be held Saturdy. Look at some of the stuff he's had to endure.....His SACA team knocked off Randolph-Clay the other night, ending their 90 game winning streak. JC scored 27, most in the 2nd half as they came from behind to knock off the favorite. That is the same team that knocked Crittenton and team off in the state finals last season. So now they will face Whitefield Academy in the finals Saturday. Locals to ATL can watch the game on GA Publich Television. As a treat - non-locals can actually watch the game online at 12:45 - right from the GAPT website. No kidding - check it out

ZACH PEACOCKGuess who else is headed to a state final? Yes, that would be Zachory Peacock and his Norland squad. They beat Palm Beach Lakes 55-43 in a semi-final game and Peacock had a team high 13 points, 10 rebounds and battled foul trouble most of the way. His team will play Winter Park (ranked #1) for the state final Saturday night.

BRAD SHEEHANWell, things can't all be roses. While Brad's Bison squad won their region, they were upset in the state playoffs by Albany 64-62 in OT, it wasn't for lack of effort by Sheehan. Brad ended up scoring almost half his team's points, with 28. He was a force down low but his guards just kept turning the ball over. Sheehan passed the 1000 point mark for his career in that game.

GANI LAWALWe're not done yet. There's another guy playing for a state title. Gani and his Norcross team beat Redan 65-47 in his state semi-final game. Gani hit the double / double at 15/14. The surprise is that Norcross will not be playing favorite Wheeler, as they were upset by Beach. Wheeler had a 50+game winning streak going. This game will be played tonight on GA Public Television for the locals and again, I think you can watch it online (see link above). If you want to see what kind of kid Gani is, then check out this nice article from the AJC.........

Not only that, but there are other guys being recruited by the Jackets who have either won state titles or will be playing for them. So you can see one thing - these guys that Hewitt is bringing in are winners. That's an outstanding quality for sure. Don't forget that guys like Anthony Morrow, Jeremis Smith and Buck Fredrick were also from winning programs.

There's another guy that needs to be discussed - Mouhammad Faye. The legend of Mr.Faye just continues to grow. In fact it's gotten to be a running joke between Jacket fans over at the Hive. We hear comparisons to Mike Dunleavy and Thaddeus Young and others yet nobody has really seen him play. Here are some of the latest snippets when someone said they got a chance to play pick-up ball with Faye and he said he reminded him of Luol Deng. Brace yourself, because there's some funny stuff there.

- I saw Muhammed Faye this morning. He was pullling several elderly folk and their pets from a burning retirement home. The firemen were standing back in amazement. I heard one of them say that Faye looked a lot like Lebron James

- That's impossible because I saw him fighting off the UFO mothership with Jeff Goldblum. He pretty much saved the world this morning.

- I'm surprised you could see him - I've heard he's got chameleon-like qualities that allow him to blend in to his surroundings. He should get a lot of steals next year.

- I saw Faye this morning and he was able to save me a Lot of Money on my Car Insurance.

- Isn't he scheduled to fight at the UFC PPV on Saturday?

- I thought he was in LA and going to be on American Idol.

- Is it possible that Faye is multiplying and could play all 5 spots at once?

- He was in LA to help Jack Bauer track down terrorists. It had absolutely nothing to do with American Idol, but don't repeat this because it is classified.

- Don't worry...he'll be back on campus next semester. He's teaching a class I signed up for: Math 7100: How to divide by zero

- When he's done with all the work described above, he's goingto save the "2 Live Stews" radio show.............yeah right...

- don't be ridiculous. Everyone knows only Chuck Norris can divide by zero. That being said, I saw Faye this morning in Charlottesville singlehandedly killing and eating the entire UVA men's basketball team. He washed it down with a nice cool glass of blended popped-collar-fratboy (of which there is a ridiculous abundance around here, its like a natural resource!)

- That's not possible, because at that same time I saw him at the stadium personally removing the chairbacks.

- I saw him at the courthouse being a character witness for Bill Campbell.

- Did anyone notice how you may see him holding a glass of water to his lips or cutting his meat into bite size pieces, but you NEVER actually see him ingest anything? Never uses the restroom either. Oh and what's with that thing behind his ear that looks like a battery recharge terminal?

- I think this is just a rumor, but my cousin's friend's girlfriend has a class with Faye and said she overheard Faye telling someone that he administered a lie detector test to Shane Olivett and he failed.

- Muhammed Faye Taught me how to scold a child and make love to a woman.

Thursday, March 02, 2006

His SACA team beat the reigning state champs and ended their 90-game winning streak by beating Randoph-Clay 69-65. Javaris Crittenton had a slow 1st half, with only 9 points, but came alive in the 2nd half, ending with 27 and taking home the victory. By the way, Randolph-Clay is the team that beat Javaris's squad in last year's state final. Javaris had set a goal to win a state championship without the help of Dwight Howard. He will get his chance, as they will now play for the state title Saturday against Whitefield Academy. These two teams split games this past season. For those in the ATL you can watch the game on GA Public Television. Here's an idea - someone record it - TIVO, whatever, turn it into an uploadable file on the web somewhere. How about it - any locals out there want to do that?

Well now, isn't this the height of irony. Chan Gailey was on TV the other night in a story run somewhere in Tennessee about the benefits of running a sports program without the use of cursing. It was sort of a point / counterpoint piece. On one side there was a guy talking about how selective use of cursing is a motivational tool and a constructive way to get your point across. Arguing the counterpoint was none-other than Chan Gailey, saying that foul language had one purpose - to tear people down. It is not meant to build-up. They had a clip of a Tech game on the sidelines and another clip showing Coach Gailey addressing the team in a very positive and non-foul mouth way.

Evidently the piece really cast Georgia Tech in a good light, but here's the thing. Obviously the reporter never spent time with the defense. If he had, he would have seen that you can run a successful top 20 defense with LOADS of cursing and potty-mouth talk. See, our man Jon Tenuta isn't a choir boy when it comes to the words he choses to get his point across. And he really doesn't "save it" for the locker-room either. And interestingly enough, he seems to get his points across pretty well.

The irony is that the least "offensive" side of the ball is evidently the offense, where we also happen to have the least offense. So truthfully, we need to be more offensive, but Coach Gailey just choses not to get there by being more offensive. Are you confused? Well, you shouldn't be..............

Oh yeah, in case you were curious, Coach Hewitt does find value in a few choice words, but he is very careful about using them when outsiders are watching.

Personally, I don't think cursing is the answer. Teaching is the answer. Maybe some guys have to have things "beat" into their head or maybe there is some military type value in "breaking" these kids once they get to college - so they stop getting used to being "the man" and get used to being part of a team. However, I still think a coach can do it just as effectively without the off-colore language.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Congrats go out to Wes Durham, who was given the Furman Bisher Award for Sports Media in the Atlanta area. Of course when you call both the Falcons and the Jackets, you almost have the market cornered................ Wes, you know I'm only kidding (and I know you read the Blog).

I will go on record (as I have before) stating that you are a treasure to the Georgia Tech community. We're blessed to have you calling our games. You have a lively voice and a livelier spirit. Fans always wondered how anyone could replace Al Ciraldo. We don't wonder any longer. Truth is, you don't replace a guy like that. You build a new legacy - and you have.

Thanks for what you do for Georgia Tech sports, and may your path always be paved in old gold................

All that enthusiasm at Duke when he came in. All the improved recruiting classes. What's going on now? His assistants seem to be leaving for other progams. His players seem to be transferring out, including the team captain and team-leading senior wide receiver Ben Patrick. You're a senior, the leading receiver, and you want to play for Delaware? Obviously there are some issues within the Duke program. Is this carry-over from older players not recruited by Roof? Hard to imagine. But he better start posting some W's sooner rather than later.

"His biggest concern is that there have been a lot of changes," said Patrick's brother, Freddie, a former Chattanooga running back who has helped advise his younger brother. "There have been some starters and some backups leaving and some coaching changes, so he just wasn't sure of the direction of the program."

Very interesting article about Buck Fredrick's father, who will be honored by USC. There are interesting comments about Junior and in-state SC schools losing the best talent. I also found it highly ironic that Zam Senior played high school ball at St.Matthews High School? Why..... because their nickname was the YellowJackets............. and now we come full circle.

UPDATEBuck Sr was honored Tuesday, and his alma mater managed to misspell his name on the video board. Nice......................